United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently signaled that he would favor a broad exception to anti-discrimination laws, writes columnist Erwin Chemerinsky. [Scott Bryant/savannahnow.com] Scott Bryant Hide caption This column was written by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. The Constitution protects religious beliefs. It does not protect a person’s right to discriminate based on religious belief. But recently, two Supreme Court justices — Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — indicated they see things quite differently. They would allow discrimination against gays and lesbians by those who have a religious objection to same-sex marriage. The justices’ position is extremely worrisome, and it could be an indication that the Supreme Court will soon create a broad exception to anti-discrimination laws. Alito and Thomas made their views known when the court denied review in what should have been an easy case involving Kim Davis, a court clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue wedding licenses to same-sex couples. The lower federal courts rightly ruled against Davis’ claim that she could refuse to issue the licenses based on her religious beliefs. If Davis had prevailed, then clerks with a religious objection to interracial or interfaith marriages could […]
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